


Drunken Confessions

by Ness09



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Love Confessions, M/M, Swearing, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 15:44:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13391013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ness09/pseuds/Ness09
Summary: prompt: Richie and Eddie have been friends for years and Richie gets super drunk at a party and confesses his love to Eddie and Eddie doesn’t know what to do with the news at first because obviously he loves Richie too, but Richie is so drunk he thinks he might just be fucking with him





	Drunken Confessions

It was 3am and Eddie was fucking tired. He watched as the rest of his friends left, a tipsy Bev hanging onto Ben’s shoulders, Stan and Mike helping a completely hammered Bill stumble out of the door. If it were up to him, he’d have left the party hours ago, but then Bev had told him she was getting fucked up tonight and he was on Richie-duty.

The thing was, Richie didn’t drink often, but when he did, he didn’t know when to stop. As could’ve been observed by him playing five rounds of beer pong, three of them against Bill. Eddie had watched Richie from afar, not wanting to get sucked into any of his drunken shenanigans.

As the party was dying down, he thought it was about time to get Richie home. His friend was currently splayed out on the couch, talking to a girl who could barely keep her eyes open.

“… he’s just so… you know.”

She nodded.

“And I really want to kiss him! Kiss him all the time! I don’t think he’d like that though.”

Eddie’s heart sank. He knew his crush on Richie was stupid and a waste of time, because Richie would never like him back, but hearing him say he wanted to kiss someone, someone that wasn’t Eddie, felt like swallowing a handful of nails.

He took a few deep breaths, then put on his best annoyed face as he nudged Richie’s arm. “It’s time to go home.”

Richie’s face lit up as he scrambled to his feet, almost tripping over nothing, if Eddie hadn’t grabbed his arms and steadied him. He reeked of alcohol and smoke and yet there was still that distinct Richie-smell that made Eddie want to steal all his hideous shirts.

“Eds!” His eyes stared down at him, completely black and unfocused. Eddie hated him like this, when he was 90% drunk and only 10% Richie.

“Let’s go!”

Richie whined and threw an arm around Eddie’s shoulders, pulling him into his side. “Already? I was just telling Jenny here… What was I telling you?”

The girl nodded again, probably too far gone to even hear a word of what was being said.

“Right, yeah! I was telling her about you.” He excitedly gestured between Eddie and the girl. “This is him! This is my Eddie!”

About him? Richie wanted to kiss him? No, he’d probably just forgotten what he had been saying all together. Ignoring his heart’s happy little flutter at the words ‘my Eddie’, he slung an arm around Richie’s waist and grabbed the arm around his shoulder with his other hand and started to pull him away.

“We’re leaving now!”

He was protesting and whining all the way towards the door, where Eddie stopped and made sure that Richie put on his jacket and zipped it too, not wanting to be responsible if he got sick.

When they were both dressed, he draped Richie’s arm around his shoulders again. “That’s enough, Richie”, he sighed. “We’re going home now.”

“But I…”

“No! Home! Now!”

To his surprise, Richie actually did stop his complaining. It was eerily quiet as they walked through the darkness to Richie’s house. With no cars or people out, it was easy to imagine they were the only two people still awake in Derry.

Richie’s head drooped so his curls were tickling Eddie’s face, his breath gently caressing his neck. Eddie swallowed hard. He was drunk, that was all this was.

“Are you mad at me?” Richie spoke softly, the loudmouthed, joke-cracking teen suddenly gone.

Eddie adjusted his arm around his shoulders. “No. It’s just late and I’m tired. Aren’t you tired?”

“I don’t want to sleep.”

“Why not?”

“Because… I didn’t tell him. I have to tell him tonight.”

His licked his lips. _Him._ Probably the _him_ , Richie wanted to kiss so desperately. He hesitated before asking. Did he really want to know? No, but it was better to know now than to find Richie locking lips with the mystery boy at school. “Tell who?”

“Eddie, of course!” Richie straightened up a bit and looked at him as if he’d just realized who he was talking to. “Oh fuck, hi Eddie!”

With his heart beating in his throat, Eddie could just stare back at him. _Tell me what?_ He wanted to ask, but his mouth only opened and closed with no sound coming out.

Richie’s lips split into a huge shit-eating grin then. “You’re so cute! You’re killing me, you’re so fucking cute.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. Of course it would just be Richie’s shit again. He should know better than to get his hopes up. Richie was never going to like him back, not in the way he wanted him to. And that was okay. They had been friends forever, he didn’t want to ruin that by having stupid feelings. They’d go away someday.

“I mean it”, Richie cooed, reaching out to pinch Eddie’s cheek. He swatted the hand away, that was a mistake, he realized too late, when Richie lost his balance and landed on the cold, wet pavement. In his futile attempts to stop his fall, Eddie was pulled down with him.

He expected a dumb comment from Richie, something like ‘Already falling for me, Eds’, but he didn’t say anything like that. Eddie felt his large, warm hands on his face and instinctively followed the motion, when Richie pulled him towards him. He’d been close to Richie numerous times before, but never like this, where he was almost on top of him and all he could think about was Richie’s hands on his face and the way it made him feel like melting into the ground. It was only when he felt the hot breath on his lips, smell the alcohol, that Eddie’s brain caught up with him and he quickly slipped out of Richie’s grasp.

“Wha-What are you doing?”, he squeaked, scrambling to get back to his feet.

Richie looked up at him, his gaze still unfocused as if he was far away, but there was a new vulnerability about his features. Eddie had never seen him look like that. It made his heart ache.

“I thought…”, Richie mumbled, then drifted off. He shrugged.

Taking even breaths, Eddie managed to slow his racing heart down enough so he wouldn’t pass out any second. “Get up” he said, holding out a hand to Richie. “You’ll get sick if you keep lying there.”

Richie’s hand was firm and warm in his, the grip so tight, Eddie couldn’t pull away even after he had gotten up.

“You’re doing it again, Eds”, Richie said. “Looking at me like that, caring about me… You’re just so… so you!  And I just… I thought you might love me too. I can’t fucking take it anymore.”

Eddie waited. Where was the punchline? Richie had probably figured out he liked him and now he was making fun of him. But the longer he waited and just stared back, the more the words sank in. _I thought you might love me too._ _Too._

He looked down at their hands, Richie’s long fingers curled firmly around his. “You…”, he started. His voice still had that awful high pitch. “You love me?”

Richie brushed his thumb over his knuckles. It was such a faint touch, but it unleashed something in Eddie. Warm shivers ran down his spine, his heart was back to trying to jump out of his chest and his stomach… Oh God he was going to be sick, wasn’t he?

“Eddie.” There was laughter in Richie’s voice, when he said his name, not malignant, more like he couldn’t believe Eddie would ask something so obvious. “I love you so much! You know that.”

How the hell would he know that? Making gross jokes about his Mom, giving him stupid nicknames and doing everything to annoy him, wasn’t really what he would consider flirting. But this was Richie… So maybe he was?

He smiled at Richie, happy to see the same warm smile on his lips. “You’re so drunk right now, Richie.”

“So are you! We’re drunk and I love you!”

Was now a good time to point out he had only had one beer tonight? He gently tugged at Richie’s hand. “Come on. I’m getting you home now.”

As they walked, neither let go of the others hand. Eddie still wasn’t sure if Richie was just drunk or if he really meant it, but decided that he didn’t care for now. Even if Richie only loved him tonight, he could at least enjoy it while it lasted.

They stopped in front of Richie’s house. Although his parents weren’t home, Eddie couldn’t just let him find his own way into his room. He’d probably fall on the stairs and break his neck or fall asleep with his head in the toilet and drown.

With Richie’s uncoordinated limbs and his refusal to let go of Eddie’s hand, it took forever to get him up to his room. He sighed, when Richie was finally safely tucked into bed with a glass of water, some painkillers and a bucket in case he needed to throw up.

His job here was done. Only, Richie still wouldn’t let go of his hand.

“No”, he mumbled, sleepily, when Eddie tried to pry his fingers off. “Come cuddle with me!”

“Richie”, Eddie begged. He would love to cuddle with him, but Richie was drunk and he couldn’t take advantage of that. “Just go to sleep.”

“Don’t go!”

“Richie.”

“Please.”

“Fine.”

The word hadn’t even completely left his mouth before Richie threw his blanket aside to make room for Eddie. If anybody asked, he fought valiantly against Richie’s advances, but in all honesty, he only gave him a halfhearted shove that didn’t deter him at all, when Richie pulled him into his arms.

“I love you, Eds.”

He waited until Richie’s breathing had slowed down and he was sure, he’d fallen asleep, before he whispered it back into the darkness. “I love you too.”

Richie’s arms tightened around him and there went all his hopes of sneaking out. What did it hurt if he slept here tonight and allowed himself to be held? It was just for tonight.

 

* * *

He woke up to somebody rolling half on top of him. Eddie’s eyes flew open. _Shit! Shit! Shit!_ Last night came rushing back to him. He’d taken Richie home and he’d been so drunk. Richie had tried to kiss him and told him he loved him and held his hand the whole way here. Had that really happened?

Well, here he was, lying in Richie’s bed with the other boy on top of him, both still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and Richie reeked of death. Even if he had said it, he hadn’t meant it. How could he mean it?

Richie groaned loudly, when Eddie shoved him away, and wrapped an arm around his waist before he could slip out of bed.

Eddie looked back at the mop of dark curls on the pillow and resisted the urge to run his fingers through it. He hesitated before running his fingers along Richie’s arm, eventually grabbing his wrist and prying it off. Unlike last night, he didn’t fight him on it. Eddie kind of wished he would.

He took his time tying his shoes, sitting on the edge of the bed, hoping Richie would wake up and just tell him again. _I love you so much! You know that._ How was he supposed to get over his crush when those words would forever be etched into his brain? Fuck Richie and his drunken rambling!

With a huff he got up, but had forgotten all about the bucket, he’d placed next to the bed last night in case Richie needed to throw up. It went skittering across the floor now, startling Richie completely awake.  Eddie would’ve had the decency to at least try to look sorry if he wasn’t so mad at him right now.

“Eddie?” Richie’s voice was rough with sleep and it made Eddie even madder. How dare he sound so attractive? “The fuck are you making so much noise for?”

He rolled his eyes. “It was an accident.”

“Thanks a lot for that”, he grumbled. “My head is fucking killing me.”

“There’s…” Not finishing his sentence, he went back to the bed, grabbed the glass of water and the painkillers he’d left there last night and held them out to Richie. “Here!”

Richie looked at him confused for what felt like a whole minute before his brain caught up with him and he took it. Eddie watched him drink the whole glass, mesmerized by the way his Adam’s apple jumped with every gulp.

“Did you bring me home last night?”, Richie asked, as he set the glass back onto the bedside table. “Why are you still here? Couldn’t get enough of me?” He winked at him. “You didn’t take advantage of me, did you?”

Eddie scoffed, trying not to think about how he had done exactly that. He should’ve made Richie let go and not climb into bed with him, shouldn’t have let Richie cuddle up to him. If he knew about that, he’d probably be disgusted. “Someone was being a big baby and wouldn’t let go of me!”

“And yet you still ended up in my bed. I’m just that irresistible.”

How did he manage to still be annoying as hell when he was clearly hungover? And how did Eddie manage to have a crush on someone he wanted to strangle half of the time? Why did that have to be one of his talents?

“Don’t you remember anything from last night?” _Please, please, remember. Please tell me you weren’t joking._

Richie ran a hand over his face. “I remember Bill getting fucked up.”

“Thanks to you.”

“I didn’t force him to drink. I’m just better at beer pong than he is.”  

“I’d say you were equally bad.”

“It might look like that to the untrained eye.”

Were they really doing this now? Pretending like nothing happened?

“You don’t remember anything else?”, he tried again.

Richie raised an eyebrow. “Should I? Did I make an ass out of myself?”

“Don’t need to be drunk for that.” His voice lacked the usual enthusiasm for this kind of banter. He was just tired of it all and wanted nothing more than to go home and spend the day under the covers, listening to sad love songs. “Just forget it.”

He made his way over to Richie’s desk, where he had left his jacket.  Behind him, he could hear the covers rustling as Richie sat up.

“Are you mad at me?” He’d asked him the exact same thing last night, but then he’d sounded almost sorry, now he just seemed annoyed. Eddie didn’t answer, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself if he opened his mouth now.

He zipped his jacket and put a hand on the door handle, ready to leave this all behind. Maybe if he stayed away from Richie for the next few days, they could just forget it all. Or he could forget it, Richie apparently didn’t have any problem with that.

“Fuck, Eddie! Tell me, what I did instead of running off in a huff.”, Richie said, annoyance slowly turning into anger.

Eddie shook his head, sighing. He should just leave, but there was still that tiny bit of hope that Richie had been sincere last night. _I love you, Eds._ “You said, you loved me”, he whispered, not turning around to look at him.

His worst nightmare became true, when he heard Richie laugh. So it was just a joke. How could he have been so stupid?

“So?”, Richie said. “I say that all the time. No big deal.”

If he had just left without saying anything, maybe he could’ve forgot and got over it, but hearing Richie laugh at him, made everything worse. Richie could be an asshole, but he was never this cruel.

“Yes, big deal!”, Eddie snapped, spinning around to glare at him. He was pleased to see Richie jump a little at the sudden outburst and the grin falling from his face. “I don’t care how fucking hammered you are or how funny it seems to you! Telling someone who’s already in love with you that you love them back, is not a joke! You’re such a fucking asshole!”

He felt the prick of tears and quickly wiped at them. Who even cared if he was crying in front of Richie now? It didn’t matter anymore, nothing mattered anymore. They wouldn’t be friends after this and right now Eddie was completely okay with that. How could he have been so stupid and just for a second think that Richie had meant it? “Fuck you, Richie!”

Richie just stared and Eddie didn’t know what was worse; his silence or if he turned this into yet another joke.  Part of him wished, Richie would, just so he could yell at him some more.

Slowly Richie got out of bed and walked towards him. This was Eddie’s cue to get the hell out of there, but he just couldn’t. Walking away from Richie was something he just couldn’t do.

“You’re in love with me?”, Richie asked.

He crossed his arms and looked away. “That’s not the point!”

“Eds, I…”

“Don’t fucking call me that!”

He was so close now that Eddie could feel the heat radiating off him, feel his breath on his skin. What the hell was he doing? He had half a mind to push him away, when Richie pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, and then he really did shove him.

“What the fuck?” Richie blinked at him as he stumbled backwards.

“I don’t want your pity. I already know it was a joke.”

“Oh my God, if anyone needs pity, it’s me”, Richie said. “I’m in love with the most oblivious, rage-filled little Eddie Spaghetti!”

Eddie stepped forward, ready to shove him again for making another joke and calling him that god-awful name, when his words sunk in. _In love…_

“But you just said it was a joke.”

Richie smiled sheepishly. “Well, yeah, I didn’t know you liked me back. Gotta play it cool.”

Although he was still angry, he couldn’t help but smile at that. When had Richie ever played anything cool?

Richie approached him again, slower this time, probably not sure if Eddie was going to push him again. Eddie wasn’t so sure himself. He kind of wanted to push him again for making him feel so many emotions this early in the day.

“You really don’t remember?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Drunk me is a such a bitch. That’s not really how I wanted to tell you.”

“You tried to kiss me too”, Eddie said. He was pleased to see the horrified look on Richie’s face.

“Did I… did we?”

Eddie snorted. “Absolutely not!”

Richie’s hands landed on his hips and he let himself be pulled close, his arms instinctively wrapping around Richie’s neck. His heart was racing in anticipation. This was it then. The moment he’d been imagining, dreaming off, for years. And then Richie’s breath hit his face and Eddie quickly clamped a hand over his mouth before he could kiss him.

“What…”

“Our first kiss is not going to taste of morning breath and alcohol! Go brush your teeth!”

Richie groaned, but did take a step away so Eddie’s hand fell to his side. Maybe he had ruined the moment somewhat, but it was the first kiss. It was important.

Just like last night, Richie grabbed his hand and pulled him along. “Fine, but you’re coming with me. If you think I’ll take my eyes of my Eddie Spaghetti for one second you are mistaken.”

“Call me that again and I’ll gladly chop of my hand to get away from you.”

“You’re such a romantic, Eds!”

“Brush your teeth already, so I can make you shut up!”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @itchierichie


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